Random self-checkout kiosks ask customers for tips. Here’s what you need to know:
Today, self-checkout machines are everywhere: airports, fast food restaurants, coffee shops, and even local stadiums. Despite their widespread presence, many consumers have not fully embraced them as life-breathing replacements for ATMs. So imagine the surprise when you learn that these machines are now asking for additional compensation for doing their jobs.
Supermarket news
According The Wall Street Journal, there has been a steady rise in self-checkout kiosks along with adverse reactions to the bolded prompts. According to the source, customers expressed frustration when they were asked to tip employees with whom they had minimal or no interaction.
The report interviewed half a dozen customers across the United States. Some people happily agreed when asked to pay the additional fees. However, most said the signs were not only confusing but also alarming. Many consumers wonder where their hard-earned money went.
A customer bought a beer at a self-service cooler at Petco Park in San Diego. The newspaper reported that the customer was taken aback when asked to add a tip to his order.
WSJ
“I was confused because it wasn’t entirely clear who I was tipping,” he said. the newspaper. He also tells the outlet that he ended up adding a 20% tip anyway.
A stadium spokesperson later shared that all tips went to employees.
Another traveler was asked to include a 10% or 20% tip on a $6 bottle of water at an OTG gift shop at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. The client tells him the newspaper that when they asked him, it felt like “emotional blackmail.” This customer, however, chose not to tip.
An OTG spokesperson informed the news outlet that all tip money collected was evenly distributed among staff members working during that specific shift.
Tipping remains a controversial topic in the country, as Americans face what is commonly known as “tip fatigue.” This recurring phenomenon persists because companies continue to ask consumers for tips in situations that do not always justify them. When inflation is taken into account, customers often become frustrated as they do not like to be instructed on how generously to part with their hard-earned money.
Even landlords have caused a stir by using platforms like TikTok to advocate adding tips to rent. It has also been reported that the first unionized Apple store in Maryland is also working to introduce the first tipping system the company has ever seen.
However, customers have not stopped tipping. According to a spokesperson for payment platform Block, total tips received by full-service and quick-service restaurants increased by 16.5% and 15.86%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Please note that this data covers all tips received, not just those from self-service kiosks.
What is your opinion on the tipping crisis? Do you think asking for tips at self-checkout kiosks crosses the line between excessive and necessary?
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn